Underneath
by Muffinizer
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Left FanFiction . net. Thank you for reading!
1. Light

_Underneath_

_Chapitre One_

_Light_

**-Gasps- It's my very first _D.Gray-man _story and I am _psyched_! I'm half-way through volume eleven (the whole Noah arc just makes me wanna cry) and I was just ready to write a story for this series. Hope this ends up well…**

**Note: It's kinda like, really rare to find Kanda x Allen stories here… I usually find Kanda x Rabi or Rabi x Allen. So anyway, this story is Kanda x Allen, so those who don't support that pairing… well, go away.**

**Another Note: The random gibberish in the story is actually… well, a language. Let's just say I mixed a bunch of letters together so you can vaguely get the idea of what the word actually is in English.**

**Disclaimer: _D.Gray-man_ belongs to Katsura Hoshino and boy is she lucky. She, right? Hoshino is a she? I don't know; Wikipedia is confusing!**

**Summary: Underneath the ground we stand thrives a civilization unknown to man, where creatures – half beast, half human. Among them is a young boy who got lost in the twisting labyrinth, eventually leading him to a single door that opens up to Earth's surface. There, he meets an older teenager, reluctantly bringing him into shelter. The boy who once lived underground learns of new things that the world above has always used, and with that, love.**

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Leather-clad feet hurriedly skittered their way through the twisting and turning maze of never-ending tales, engraved and drawn on the dirt walls. The air was damp and musty, more than it was a few days ago, and it wasn't helping the situation at all. Constant throbbing, faraway echoes, the occasional sharp shoot of pain near the temple; those didn't help either.

Finally those rapid footsteps came to an abrupt stop, and all that could be heard that lone moment was heavy pants and the squeaks of shrews scampering around in the dark corners, scavenging for anything edible. As the breathing became slower and much quieter, the footsteps started again, this time heavy and desperate. Legs pedaled themselves as fast as they could, while arms swung front and back, head whipping side to side.

He felt like he was running away, not running back.

There was a shout as suddenly the footsteps were replaced with a tremendous thud and complete darkness. Growling, the person who was running sat on his behind, rubbing his bruised forehead with an agitated frown etched on his face. Running in the dark never really was his thing but, to smash right into a wall, he thought with a tint of discontent, was awfully pathetic. Jumping back up to his feet with a grunt, he staggered forward before dashing far ahead to wherever his feet lead him.

He was, indeed, lost.

And after hours and hours, if not maybe a day, of running in perhaps even circles through the maze they called their home he gave up and collapsed right onto the ground, knees first, and sighed as his head came in contact with the surprisingly soft dirt. He really didn't know how he got lost, why he did, and what he had to do to get out.

Pounding his fists against the ground, he started a rhythm as he caught his breath once more, the muffled bangs creating a soothing beat to his ears. Back in the centre of the maze where his clan was, kids would pound on the ground repeatedly in case they were lost, and those who had the keenest ears would come to where they were and bring them back to the village. Of course, those with the keenest ears could not hear his beating from a distance away, and his attempts were clearly futile.

Groaning, the boy rolled onto his back and glared at the dirt brown ceiling that seemed to be slowly caving in on him, and winced once in a while as specks of earth fell on his face like rain. His lifted one finger and seemingly traced the endless scribbles and lines that were drawn with ink on the walls, each bull or human in a loin cloth telling something of the past. Of course, the whole human in a loin cloth wasn't exactly precise, for his people never went up to the surface since millenniums ago.

A faint creak caught the boy's attention and he sat upwards almost instantly. Poking out from under his mop of white hair was a pair of horns right above where his ears were, and the sensitive ears twitched. Using the walls as a support, he stood up all the while moaning, his eyes darting to and fro, searching for the creaking noises. The creaking was replaced with shuffling, and then indistinct chatter.

Now that was a first, he thought with mild amusement and soon set off southwards where the talking was the loudest. His anxiousness got to the better of him and he ended up dashing as fast as his leather-clad feet could take him; not much to his surprise, he ended up in a dome like room where tales and myths circled him, never-ending, and a small ray of light flooded in from the very top. The drawings didn't reach up to there and he suspected that his ancestors didn't have the stamina to climb up all the way up.

Curious and anxiousness still high, he made way for the peak by climbing the rocky walls, foot jammed in a hold there, fingers clutching and grasping for a certain jut in the right position. Tongue sticking out, he heaved himself upward slowly, slowly, until he felt the dirt beneath his left foot giving out on him. He gasped, quickly shifting his foot closer to his side, relieved to find that it was firm. Continuing on, the boy hissed as he scraped his finger and ended up with a large, gushing cut; but he ignored it and smiled proudly to himself when he realized that he was almost half way there.

The simple idea of him reaching up to a place where his ancestors had never reached before was stuck in his mind and his goal to reach that peak blocked everything out. He didn't pay attention to the bruises and cuts forming on his ankles and hands.

The boy didn't even realize the pounding of feet against dirt, getting louder and louder, and then the shouts of their native language echoing in the dome-like room.

"Dancht! Dancht, ciferda!"

He was too caught up in that ray of light that he couldn't feel the unusual heat shining down on him, almost burning his pale, touchy skin. Reaching up higher as he got to that point, he squinted just a bit to get a look-see through the small crack, and gasped at what he saw. Eager once again, he ripped away at the crack, pushing away dirt and mud to enlarge the hole even more. The shouts from below became frantic now, and the pounding seemed endless.

"Na, g'orct hrenk!"

The pounding of the kin and the tip of their spears continuously jabbing into the solid earth beneath them.

The pounding of his rapid heart as the shining light became brighter and brighter as the dirt crumbled away like sand.

He heard one last "Na!" before the burnished light flooded into the room completely, stinging all of their eyes, their eyes watering due to the bright and immense amount sunlight. But that didn't stop him. He crawled through the whole, wiggling, both arms through the hole as one swung in the empty air, one kicking at the dirt wall. And then, with all the strength he could muster, he kicked off with his heel and squirmed through the hole, gasping for fresh air as he freed his body.

The boy tried looking beneath him, but he saw nothing but green, waxy, pointy edges that stuck out from the earth in different directions. He was confused.

Hadn't he just dug a hole through the peak of the dome to here?

Speaking of which, he thought to himself as his eyes darted from the waxy material to the blue – was it blue, he questioned himself, for he rarely saw the colour – vacant space above him, where was he? Just as he was about to stand up, he smelled something. Was it his little brother's broth burning? He reminded himself that he was not in his land underneath and then the honking, the stomping, and the whispers took over his senses.

The chattering he heard from below.

So many new sounds, the smells, the feeling, the colours; they got to him so quickly that the boy fell back onto the waxy, green material, body completely giving out to the new sensations.

…

London, he concluded bitterly with a puff of hot air, was not the best place to visit during the winter. Why not Bermuda or the Bahamas? Surely they would be warm and allow him to bask himself in sunlight to his heart's content. But no; his sick aunt had to live in London, England, and his mother dearest nearly had a heart attack when hearing so, so the family of two – his mother and he – quickly gathered their belongings and got a flight from New York to London. That was a day ago and already he felt bored.

Kicking a random pebble on the cobblestone road, the boy jammed his gloved hands into his grey trench coat, trying hard, but failing, to block out the noises outside. The sub-zero air wasn't helping his already icy cold attitude; all could tell that the boy was in a bad mood since his dark eyes always seemed to exude hatred anywhere, any time. As he reached one of the few parks around town, he settled down on a bench and propped his legs upward, knees drawn close to his chest, and wrapped his arms securely around them. It was awkward to be in that position in the middle of the park and, indeed, it made him look cowardly, but he did it for the extra warmth from his legs. Either way, if he caught someone staring, he would growl and send them off with that venomous shiver running up and down their spines.

As he examined the small pebbles scattered along the wide field of empty space and several trees planted in random spots, he saw a bunny frantically hopping away from the direction he was facing and, second after second, the wide beady eyes seemed to enlarge second after second. He frowned, knowing and fully aware that for animals to act so nervously, it meant that something unexpected would happen.

He thought, with a sigh, that he should get out before some massive earthquake started in London; better safe than sorry, he always said. Getting killed by a sudden earthquake wasn't exactly how he imagined his death.

_Well_, the boy bitterly thought, _maybe if I die just now, I don't have to listen to mother's constant wailing in her room._

The boy stretched out his legs and stood up, slightly unbalanced, and gazed up at the clear winter sky. And then he reflected of the past, wondering why his mother cried everyday. The first reason that popped up to his mind was because his aunt, her closest sister, was ill, but then there was another basis for her constant crying.

… _Is it still because father left?_

He grimaced instantly and, with a deep growl, he kicked the ground beneath his feet, such ferocity and strength in that action that he dug a deep hole with just his heel into the solid earth. Even skirting across the thought of his father and how he was doing always did this to him, but he knew that his mother was suffering more than he was on the inside. She always smiled and sent him off to school with a positive attitude, but he knew that when she was alone, she would lock herself in her own room and cry her heart out.

And he hated it.

He hated being weak, he hated the fact that he couldn't protect his mother, albeit he knew that preventing a sickness without certain medical care was near impossible for him.

_Oh great_, he grimaced, _first I think an earthquake's going to hit the city, and now I reminisce for no reason? Great, just great._

His frown grew deeper as, while walking down the cobblestone path that carved through the park, the temperature seemed to fall step after step. The fact that his nose and his ears and the tip of his fingers were tinted pink didn't bother him; it was the fact that he was being affected by this cold that did. Shivering once – he couldn't help it; the scarf that was tightly secured around his neck wasn't really covering much skin – the boy made way for some bus stop; he really didn't know if there was such a thing as a bus stop, since he walked to the park and not by vehicle. When he spotted the large, red bus, he dashed towards it, just fast enough so he wouldn't trip over the ridiculously long scarf.

He tied it five times around his neck, but it was still too long.

Getting on the trolley bus, he quickly rubbed and blew hot puffs of hair onto his frail hands, hoping he wouldn't freeze to death on his ride home. As he found a spot he heard coughing down the small aisle, and when he glanced that way, he saw an old man, shaking, climbing onto the trolley bus with great trouble; without the help of his wooden cane, he was bound to fall off the trolley and land right on the street road, helpless.

Sighing, the boy's 'good man' instinct kicked in and when the elder came along, he took a step back from the leather-clad seat and stretched his arms before him as if he was some steward on a plane, showing passengers where their seats were. The old man looked appalled and, with many thanks, he sat down on the seat with a sigh. Glancing at the boy, he flashed an almost toothless smile, rummaging through his back pocket for several moments all the while. He was on the verge of turning around and searching for another seat, but the man tapped him on the shoulder before he could do so and, as appreciation, slipped several wads of euro into his pale hands.

The boy stood dumbstruck as the elder chuckled and faced the window to take a wonderful view of London.

"Oh… Thank you," he said and quickly added, "very much, sir."

Circling around, the boy spotted yet another seat way in the back and cursed his so called 'good man instinct' for letting him lose a valuable window seat. Yet, he sighed, maybe he could use the euro for his own use next time around town.

Sitting down on the seat comfortably, the boy propped his legs back up to his chest and, though it failed, he tried his best to ignore the chattering and cooing of the women sitting in the seats from the opposite side of the aisle. They were whispering something like

"Look at that adorable boy!" or "My, he's cute."

Trying not to ignore the women in a rude way by scoffing at them and telling them to shut up, the boy simply turned his head to the side and played with his tress, long and silky, to distract himself the entire ride. His actions, to his displeasure, just made the women chatter louder and quicker than before. Sighing, he pulled at the rubber band which held the strands of raven hair together in a single bind. Perhaps if he covered his face with his dark hair, the women would get the idea that he didn't want to be spoken to?

_Darn it_, he groaned inwardly, _where's a hooded jacket when you need one?_

Almost gracefully his hair flowed past his shoulder, literally embracing his figure and showing the fine lines of his broad shoulder and slim neck. He swore he heard the women and another girl shriek in a shrill voice farther down the aisle, and quickly regretted letting his hair go loose for the instant his placed his hands on his lap, women from all sides leaned forward and asked him endless questions, touching the silky raven strands or the awkward frilly hem beneath the trench coat's sleeve's end.

Glancing past the sudden sea of women, he caught sight of the rather large apartment his aunt was residing in and, with a gentle push, waded through the sea of women until he reached the front of the bus, out of breath. He gave the driver a look and a glance over his shoulder, and immediately the man got his idea, coming at a hasty stop for the kid to jump off. He waved at the man as a thank you and, without looking behind him, ran along the sidewalk to the apartment complex, long strands of hair blowing in the air behind him.

He ignored the "Farewell, pretty boy!" from the women and continued walking, breath slowing, head throbbing. Never had he met such an annoying group in his life; he wondered how those boy band groups could stand fan girls and their screaming at a concert. Shivering, he decided not to ponder on that thought much longer.

Instead of going back home, the boy turned a curb and ran into a smaller park, one that resembled a large garden of flowers and trees, much greener than the last. The teenager spotted a plastic chair in the far corner of the park and, with no complaints, sat down on it, searching for the right position. Once he found it, he curled his body in a small ball again, enjoying the silence of the fall-turning-winter day. Closing his eyes, he heard nothing but soft winds and clattering from another apartment nearest the garden. He noted that it was his neighbour's, a family he didn't meet and didn't want to meet the day he came to London. Of course, his mother literally barged in and greeted them with a happy smile but he ditched the little group meeting and went straight back to his room.

Perhaps the family had a kid, preferably his age, one that enjoyed silence, ballad and art. Then he heard rock music blasting from a pair of speakers in the apartment complex and, when he snapped his eyes open in alarm, saw a head of red nodding his head up and down, singing loudly along with the song. Not to mention, he sang off key.

"_Yureru kodou ga boku wo shibaritsukeru, kimi no kakera ga fukai yami ni ochita…"_

The boy groaned and covered his ears, kicking himself for actually thinking that. This kid was, so far, completely different than he was. Drawing his knees closer to his chest, he tried blocking out the horrid singing of the redhead, but failed miserably when the kid turned the volume up, blasting it at the max, and began jumping up and down in his room, a comb in hand.

"_Kimi no, kimi dake no kuchibiru ni sotto furetai!"_

A single thought ran through his head as he stood up and, that thought was,

_Please, shut up._

He stood up from his chair rather crankily and stretched his limbs, yawning quietly as small rays of sunshine beat down on his still shining hair. Finding his hair rather distracting, he pulled it up and bound it up with a rubber band and pulled, hoping no loose strands were falling. He frowned his usual frown and jogged a few laps around the garden, bored out of his mind, just to relieve some previous stress. Picking up a flower, he found that it was his mother's favourite, and stuffed it in the trench coat's pocket for later use. Since there was nothing else to do, the boy made way back to his apartment; down through the garden, down the sidewalk, turning on another curb, running past the neighbour's loud complex, and then to his aunt's.

While walking – more like trudging, but he was still going to the same place anyway – he realized that almost every apartment complex had a garden on either side of it, with flowers flourishing and birds twittering. It was supposed to help his cranky mood, the cheery scenery, but it just wasn't working that day, and all he focused on was cement path leading to the apartment complex they were living in.

Until he saw a figure, a completely different species, lying on the garden opposite of his apartment. His eyes widened when he spotted ivory horns, and the most unusual snow white hair. Then the clothes – he thought the creature was from the Stone Age with those clothes on – made of what seemed like extremely hard leather, barely covering the creature's body. He frowned; it didn't seem like it just dropped from the sky and landed there unconscious.

_Perhaps_, he thought, _there's a secret behind that thing? Maybe I should…_

"Kanda! Kanda Yuu!" Said boy glanced upward and saw his mother waving down from the second floor, smiling cheerfully. "Welcome back, honey!" He grinned a small grin and walked up the front steps, casting a curious glance at the still figure on the garden.

_Or perhaps_, Kanda thought, _the neighbour will find it and take it home? Speaking of which, is that a boy?_

"Kanda, come in; it is cold outside! I don't want you getting sick like Auntie Fumi did!" That was his mother all right, worrying her head off over her son, even though he knew that he was perfectly immune to most sicknesses.

"Yes, mother," he replied in his casual voice, earning a "Good boy" from his mother. Reaching out to twist the doorknob, he turned around once more to see if the creature was moving by any chance. Seeing it remain perfectly still, Kanda walked into the spacious apartment with a sigh. Of course, he himself wanted to examine the species and figure out where it came from, but he didn't have the time; his mother just cooked up miso soup, and he didn't want to turn down such a warm broth on a bitter day.

As he closed the door, he swore he heard a loud groan from across the street, but he ignored it, shaking his head and pulling off his trench coat and shaking it off in case something was on it.

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**Eww… That seemed relatively bad, seeing that I spent at least three days (I'm a slacker; can't help it!) on it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it since… I said before… this is my first _D.Gray-man_ story. I hope it turned out well for you guys. -Cringe- Why do I think that Kanda seemed a bit… off-character? Hmm. And it was a bit too short. Sorry about that. Hee. -sigh-**

**Haha; yes, the 'redhead' (_anyone_ should know who he is) was singing a Gackt song. Metamorphoze, it's called. The lyrics were saying:**

**_Yureru kodou ga boku wo shibaritsukeru, kimi no kakera ga fukai yami ni ochita…_**

**_-The wavering vibrations tied me down, as the fragments of you fell into the deep darkness…_**

**_Kimi no, kimi dake no kuchibiru ni sotto furetai…_**

**_-I want to softly touch your lips, only yours…_**

**Uhh, yeah; I thought the redhead would love rock songs, so I'm like "Hey wait a minute! I think almost all BL lovers like Gackt!" So I picked a song from one of his albums. Yeah. It's pretty good. I mean, I listened to it but… I guess his type of music just isn't my type? I'm more like Kanda. -grin-**

**And also, the creatures (y'know, those related to that white haired beast) were saying... Literally:**

**"Down, down child! No, get over here! No!" Yadda yadda. Not too confusing, really.**

**Ah well, hope you enjoyed; you can review if you want. I just really want to see if I get any hits. -frown- If I don't get any hits, I'll just cry on my birthday. -sniff- (The day I finished this was: 3/16/07 9:47 AM.)**

**So… yeah! Thanks for reading. I'll have the next chapitre up… some day.**

**-Muffinizer, pya **


	2. Found

_Underneath_

_Chapitre Two_

_Found_

**And thus begins the second chapitre of _Underneath!_ My, I'm surprised I got this many reviews; plus, someone added this to their C2, favourite list and even alert list! -Shock- Oh my, thank you. This really helped me since, well, I've been kinda… stressing out lately. Luckily this stress didn't jump at me on my birthday or on Saturday… Anyway, enough babbling for me; let's get started.**

**Random Note: PLEASE DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED CHAPTER 110! -Insert excessive exclamation points- Here, I'll just put it in one big line just to warn you that it's a spoiler: Idontknowwhybutthecompleteideaofrhodekissingallenjustdisturbedmesinceimyselfcannotseethosetwoasacouplebutanywaywtfwasthataboutrhodekissingallenallofasuddenitwaslikesorandomthatijumpedinmyseatwhataboutrinaliwouldntshebeshockedheckiwouldjust(ressurectifheisdead)sickandaonthatfreakingnoahthingandtellhimtocutherintopieceswiththemugenbutthenagainthatsmyopinionsomeonemightactuallylikethatcouplebutyoureherebecauseitskandaxallenrightgood.**

… **Oh damn. -Laughs-**

**Disclaimer: _D.Gray-man_ belongs to Hoshino. (Whoa, I remembered her name without looking it up! I think.)**

**Summary: Underneath the ground we stand thrives a civilization unknown to man, where creatures – half beast, half human. Among them is a young boy who got lost in the twisting labyrinth, eventually leading him to a single door that opens up to Earth's surface. There, he meets an older teenager, reluctantly bringing him into shelter. The boy who once lived underground learns of new things that the world above has always used, and with that, love.**

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"Brother, there's a creature lying in our garden!"

Immediately a man popped out from behind a fine, polished, cherry wood door, slick hair tied up in a ponytail with a fashionable cap placed on his head, and stared at the girl who just randomly called out from outside. He blinked and, at the mere sight of a white haired figure slumping on the ground with horns sticking out from both sides of its head, sprinted towards the girl, grabbing her with such speed and strength that she felt her arms snap in half; he pulled her away instantly, checking to see if it was contagious after placing her far off in the side, and poked its head with a slender finger of his.

"Rinali, where did you find this thing?" the man slowly questioned, giving both the unconscious creature and his sister a look. Said girl pouted at her older sibling and replied, with great annoyance as she played with her violet hair pulled back in two ponytails,

"It was just here, brother, and I didn't touch it at all."

He hummed, intrigued by the magnificent species, and then muttered under his breath,

"Perhaps this creature is from outer space?" Rinali scoffed at her brother's proposition as he herself realized that his simple logic was ridiculous. Who would call this Neanderthal creature an alien from space? It would, of course, she thought, need some air tank to survive in the land without oxygen… Plus his clothes were completely worn out; they were just simple raggedy straps of leather, and were out of style. She wondered if this type of clothing was popular in its land.

"Brother, don't you think we should take it to the hospital and get a doctor to check what it is?" Rinali questioned after her brother picked the thin boy up and placed him over his shoulder. "I mean, we're not going to take him home, right? We don't have any room in our apartment…"

"Nonsense, Rinali!" the older brother exclaimed, throwing a hand up in the air dramatically as he ended up shifting around and placing the boy over his back in some piggy-back ride formation. "This boy here is obviously-!"

There was a loud, shrill whistle filled their ears, and the two knew what that meant. The man simply released the boy from his grasp and dashed into the kitchen at such velocity; all Rinali saw was a blur – with that unique shade of green and yellow on top – and then another shrill cry. However, it was not from the kitchen itself, but from her brother, who was too busy screaming and saving whatever it was in the room to care about the angry neighbors who lived close by.

"What happened to my coffee? Didn't I set the time right? Maybe- Wait a minute!" Rinali's brother came marching up to the kitchen window which was, apparently, right beside the house's door. "Rinali, was Rabi here earlier?" The violet haired girl simply nodded as she craned her neck to see what was going on in that kitchen that made her brother freak out completely. "I think he was just toying with our coffee maker!"

Rinali sighed. Of course, a day without coffee for her dear brother Komui was like hell packed up inside the empty head of his, wrecking all chaos and havoc until he collapsed in defeat. It wasn't really a pretty sight, truthfully; the poor girl had nightmares after that incident when she inadvertently dropped the coffee maker, causing it to shatter into a dozen shards of glass. No, it wasn't a sight most amusing.

She grimaced as the shouting continued, then the fire extinguisher went off; more yells filled the small, smoky room, and the teenager knew she had to jump into the situation before her brother hurt himself – again.

As she dashed into the kitchen with whatever item that was closest in her reach – at that point it was another one of her brother's exclusive hats – and began waving it around to clear the air, all thoughts of the white haired creature slowly waking up were stashed deep inside her mind.

…

"_Snow kiss kono mama kimi to good-bye nante iwa naide whoa-whoa!"_

The redhead that literally muted Kanda with his horrid singing the day before was at it again, this time with a rock-pop song that a woman sang; her voice was incredulously high and Kanda wondered how this boy could reach those notes. Perhaps it was because he was just born that way; defective and annoying.

He tried to keep his mind off of the ghastly singing but it just ended up swirling and thrashing in his head, driving him insane that, at one moment, he was about to take the chair he was sitting on, throw it at the window with such accuracy and speed, and, if God was on his side, nail the boy right in the head just to knock him out for, say, a week or two. If he was lucky, perhaps he would even die. But of course he knew that deep, deep inside he didn't have the heart – or lack, thereof – to throw a wooden stool at a redhead who was singing in his own room. And then the raven haired boy wondered why that music coming from a room yards away from where he was reached his ears.

_Thin walls, perhaps? _Kanda thought as he grimaced and tried to cover both his ears whilst turning a yellowed page in his book _To Kill a Mockingbird_; to his dismay, it didn't work quite so well, for the redheaded boy next door blasted his music up – yes, again, Kanda noted as he tried very hard not to explode by gritting his teeth rather harshly – when another song started. It was, as usual, the kind he despised. Hard rock, and a vocalist who had the creepiest, lowest, and, in his pointed of view, what seemed like a lusty, seductive voice singing along; he loathed all types of music like such.

Scrambling in his seat, he searched over and under his desk for music to play, just to soothe and calm down the bustling anger ready to erupt, and came across a ballad mix that he received from his uncle years ago. He popped it in into the spare stereo that his aunt stashed in her closet one day, and sighed in content as a mellower, serene track played, washing away almost all anger and impatience away.

Kanda glanced out the window, purely out of curiosity, and cringed as the sunlight beat down straight towards his face and, no matter how much he tried, the music from next door was still too loud. Perhaps his aunt's husband, who was a policeman in London, had a spare shotgun he could use. With a sigh he heaved himself off the chair and to his bed, slumping quietly as his body shifted and turned to find the right position. It was hard to sleep in the afternoon for him, especially with blazing screaming that the redhead called music, but he tried his hardest – and failed – to close his eyes just for a brief second, just to see if he could succeed in sleeping.

All he got was a mental picture of a white haired boy, horns jutting out from its skull, and the most miserable metallic orbs that, glassy with tears staining his pale cheeks and-

His eyes snapped open suddenly and he gasped, and, spastically, tried to sit up from his bed but ended up failing terribly; Kanda accidentally rolled onto the floor, face first, and ended up in an awkward position with his legs in the air and torso pressed flat against the carpet. It was then that his mother decided to walk in.

"Yuu- Oh, what are you doing on the floor, boy?" the petite woman asked as she crouched down to meet her son face to face, and continued, "You look like an idiot, Yuu-chan." He grimaced inwardly at the nickname but decided against showing it to his mother; who knew what she would do if she found out that she upset her one and only son? Sometimes, Kanda thought, his "good man" instincts actually had a bright side in his life.

"Well, get up, or else we'll have a visit with the doctor because of your back," she snapped playfully as she reached out and helped her son stand up with a huff. Kanda straightened out the navy green undershirt he wore and flashed his mother one of his rare grins.

"All right, mother, no need to care about me. Is Aunt Fumi fine? And what about Uncle Katsuhisa, is he back from work yet?" The raven added a silent "I need to shoot the redhead down next door with his revolver."

Of course his mother did not hear him and, as she left, giggling, Kanda let out a breath of relief. He certainly did not imagine himself jerking awake and stuttering at the image of the frail boy he spotted the other day. And then he thought: Was it a boy? As he remembered where he spotted the creature, Kanda poked his head out of his window to check if the redhead was still dancing and singing along with a random song; luckily, he found no boy screaming on the top of his lungs.

Slamming the window shut, the boy twirled around and swiftly made way to his door, and on the way down the stairs, he waved good bye to his mother, telling her that he would be back around the evening. She in reply simply smiled gracefully to herself as the sound of a wooden door slamming shut echoed, filling the blank, empty room with sound. The rushing of cool water running down her hands broadened her smile.

Perhaps, she thought, today would be the day where she would not cry in her room.

…

Kanda shivered as the freezing draft suddenly blew over him, knocking his senses out momentarily. He never really liked the cold and the fact that London still was not the warmest place on Earth – and that they still couldn't visit the Bahamas – only pissed him off more. Stepping out onto the paved sidewalk, the raven shifted his eyes to the side and spotted the redhead, his neighbor, huddling over something on the ground, playing with his bright orange scarf. He cocked an eyebrow in curiosity; what exactly was the redhead doing that sparked his interest like so?

Taking long, purposeful steps, Kanda made his way to the redhead on the other side of the street, just where he spotted the white haired creature the day before. Then, slowly, realization dawned on him.

Was the redhead taking that creature?

_No!_ Kanda thought with sudden furiousness. _I won't let such a perfect specimen fall into the hands of someone like him!_ He paused in his steps as he thought back to the previous day; had he not just thought of something similar to this? The raven ducked his head to recollect his thoughts and put on a threatening scowl, making up his mind while marching towards the redhead. He bent down and, as soon as he poked him, barked,

"What do you think you're doing?"

The redhead looked up suddenly, jumping in surprised; Kanda noted that the boy must had been paying attention to it with his whole mind and heart. Quickly the redhead flashed a smile to mask his surprise and in reply chirped,

"Well, I found a stray thing on the street. I was wondering if it was fine, lying down like this. Hey, aren't you-?"

"Rabi!"

A furious – that was unusual, said redhead noted – Komui came stomping down from his porch, hat firmly placed on his head in an odd fashion with a pink bunny cup in his hands. Rabi stood and walked towards the older man, showing a cheeky smile, an 'I-didn't-mess-up-your-coffee-machine-while-testing-out-a-few-inventions-of-mine-on-it!' type of smile.

Kanda simply watched as the man sparked off into an argument, waving and flapping his arms around to express his anger, half of which Rabi really didn't listen to. As soon as Komui stopped talking, Rinali poked her head out the kitchen window, scratches and what seemed like black ink smudged all over her arms and face. She eyed the three of them, that is, Komui, Rabi and Kanda, taking an excruciatingly long, leisurely look at the raven, before waving at her brother and shouting,

"I fixed the machine, brother!"

Said man let out a breath of relief, tenderly placing a hand over his chest to calm his speeding heart down. Rabi laughed nervously as he slowly inched away from the man, taking his chance of escape so he could avoid the man's strangle of doom. However the man caught him before he could sprint for his life, grabbed him by the collar, and set him down on the ground right next to the creature for a scolding.

Only after a few minutes did Komui finally realize that the redhead was playing with the creature's snowy hair and was ignoring him. He stared at it with such a perplexed face and, trying to prove his inner conscience wrong that the creature was indeed there before him, reached out to pet the pallid, milky face, then the long eyelashes that stood too still. His breath hitched in his throat; was such a creature actually real?

"What're you staring at?" Kanda interrupted Komui's little examination by poking his head in front the man's face. He recoiled and fell back on his behind, the man's eyes still locked on the white haired boy before him. The raven's eyes slowly made their way to the boy too, staring directly at his face for the first time in his life, and, like Komui, he was suddenly entranced by the uniqueness in…

Beauty?

_Is it truly in beauty,_ the boy questioned himself for a brief second, _or is it some illusion that this species can cast on humans?_

_No_, Kanda frowned, _that's just jumping to conclusions. But… perhaps he has some-_

"Kanda."

Said raven craned his neck to spot Rinali walking towards him, arms crossed behind her back, mini skirt swishing back and forth. She had an odd pink stain on her cheeks that Kanda couldn't make out, and finally, she spoke.

"This… This boy. You saw him yesterday, right?"

Taking a moment, he stared the petite girl up and down, confused. Yes, he saw him lying on Komui's garden the day before but how exactly did she know?

"You must be thinking 'How does this crazy girl know?' right?" Rinali chuckled, nervousness clear and evidential by the way she still fidgeted and stared hard at her feet. "Umm, well, I was looking out the window yesterday and saw you… staring at our garden." This time she glanced up, her eyes wide in expectation, and let out a sigh she did not know she kept in when she noticed the raven still in the same position as before, squatting and stolid.

_First I was wondering if you were staring at me,_ she thought to herself in embarrassment, but quickly covered it by stammering, "And then today I realized that there was this creature on our garden, and I kinda fit the pieces together. You were staring at it in fascination, right?"

_Fascination_, the raven thought with an arrogant smirk and continued, _yes, it was-_

"Fascination," he said aloud, earning him a couple of looks from the three. He jumped; had he just said that aloud in front of these people? "I mean," Kanda quickly recovered by sending them a chilly glare, "yes, I was staring at the creature in fascination. Nothing more. What? Stop staring at me like that!"

He felt his face flush furiously and before he knew it, Rabi was laughing at him, pointing and just snickering, mocking his humiliation with no mercy.

It was then that something stirred in his lap.

The redhead was too busy guffawing to realize that the white mop of hair was shifting under his hand, but by the time the boy stood up on his knees completely, blinking blankly at everyone, Rabi noticed the boy.

First thing he wanted to do was cuddle the boy for, even though it was half dead, half awake, it was absolutely adorable. And, though no one outside his family – heck, anyone outside his bedroom – knew of this, he had some secret fetish for cuddly things; and this creature, this boy was one of them.

However he did not have the chance to stare at the silver, metallic eyes again for the boy quickly glanced at Kanda and focused his attention on the raven. Said boy cocked an eyebrow and sent him a harsher gaze which did not seem to work; the boy seemed absolutely unfazed by his scowl.

…

It was extremely, painfully bright when he opened his eyes after what seemed like forever. Fresh air hit his nostrils hard and fast, and he swore his brain shut off and on after he blinked several times for his vision to focus. He saw in amazement the same waxy material he remembered from whenever he woke up, the same azure sky, the same raven haired boy with such fierce, steel eyes that bore into his face…

The boy paused at that; a boy? Who was he? Why was he here? And why was he staring at that human with such a pensive look?

He couldn't see the other humans around him and focused only on the frowning raven, his eyes wide in pure wonder.

…

"And it's on," Rabi whispered to himself as he scooted far away from the two locked in each other's gaze, watching the small staring contest from a distance. "Who will win, Kanda or the creature?"

All Rinali could do was blush and silently root Kanda on; it wasn't her fault that the masculine, yet somewhat feminine boy was so good looking that a single glance could make any girl fall to her knees. She was, much to Komui's disappointment, one of those girls. She too stared attentively at the two boys, face-to-face, eyes unblinking, and knees drawn together in an almost casual fashion.

"Well," Komui coughed and instantaneously he caught both boys' attention, "this is rather awkward, no? This… creature just appears on our garden out of no where and it seems like it's already crushing on Kanda."

Kanda and Rinali stared at the man with flabbergasted looks on their face – Kanda was, as usual, masking that shock with another deep scowl – and the girl gasped. "You mean the thing is… is…"

"Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions!" the redhead jumped in, saving Rinali from a heart attack, repeating exactly what Kanda was saying in his head. He shot Kanda what seemed like a 'You-are-so-lucky-you-bastard' look, but the raven couldn't quite make out what the teenager was saying.

As everyone focused on the white haired boy before, what he said sounded like gibberish to him. Kanda saw his lips moving, but he heard sounds and gestures that made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever.

_Perhaps_, he thought, _he's speaking a different dialect of English?_

"… me? Hear me?"

That was when he realized that the boy spoke broken English. How that was possible was beyond his thinking.

…

The boy tried so hard to speak in sentences; years earlier they had been taught scarce letters and words of the human's language, and he vaguely remembered them. It was millennia ago when a great hero, a dwarf, went up to the surface and met humans for the first time in their history. He brought back artifacts, artifacts of what was called 'wood', and round, red things that were juicy when popped, called 'berries.' And that dwarf brought the very language, written in his dwarven language on paper, to the land underground.

It was passed down from generation to generation, but the documents were years before in the labyrinth they called their home, and slowly the knowledge of the human language decreased as time lapsed. It was then that the boy, a few years from aging into an adult, decided to venture out and search for those documents in the maze on a free day.

That was how he ended up being lost.

He felt the humans stare at him and murmur amongst themselves and hazily picked up a few words here and there.

Weird. Language. Creature. Demon. Lost. Found. Here.

So many of those words spun around him and he felt his consciousness slipping away slowly, but his eyes met the raven's eyes from his previous encounter and he sat still, unmoving, eyes wondering.

What did this human have that drew him into some unknown abyss?

"Human," he finally spoke as he raised a tan finger and pointed at the raven haired boy, who glanced from a man in front of him to him.

It was not a cold glare this time; however, it was more of a curious, imploring gaze that seemed to lure him in even further. He felt himself crawl forward on all fours, knees scraping against the waxy green points, leather shoes dragging against brown, rocky material beneath him.

And then he was up close to the raven, his pale face just a hair's width apart from the human's.

…

"And so it starts again," Rabi grumbled under his breath, still examining the two who continued their peaceful game of 'let's-stare-at-each-other-in-confusion-just-to-kill-time-and-annoy-those-around-us.'

Silence seemed to be pressing down on them as the tension rose; the two boys' game of staring never seemed to end, and slowly, ever so slowly, it was agitating Rabi. The silence, the tension, the boredom was nipping at his heart and he felt the desire to squirt lemon juice in both their eyes to force them to cry out in pain and blink their eyes; it was all for fun of course, not to watch them wither and shriek in the stinging smarting. No, he wasn't that malicious as some would think.

And then, much to his liking, Kanda blinked and pushed himself away from the creature. It wasn't out of distaste or revulsion, he noted, but more of alarm and self-consciousness. Kanda still did not take his eyes off the confused creature, however, and it seemed like another staring contest was going to kick in until-

"Stop!" Rinali suddenly snapped, pushing the two boys apart from each other. The girl gasped; what had just gotten into her? In a flash she stumbled back on the grass blushing profusely as both boys gave her a look, both in puzzlement. Rinali took the silent seconds to recollect her thoughts, breathing heavily.

_No, I wasn't jealous or anything_, the girl reminded herself, screwing her eyes shut. _I think it was just… wrong to see two boys staring at each other like that? I mean, Yuu- err, Kanda… The girls at school wouldn't like it if they figured out that, somehow, Y- no, Kanda and… this…_

"Rinali," Komui interrupted, receiving a look from his younger sister and the perplexed white haired critter that, no matter how hard he tried to listen, still could not fit every single piece together. "I think we should try talking to this creature, not scare the living daylights out of it by glaring at it." He shot Kanda a look which he took offensively.

"Apparently it's not human," the redhead butted in by shoving himself between Rinali and Kanda. "I mean, what's it speaking, some kinda deranged German?"

All three of them shot him a look, and Rabi cowered back behind Kanda, who tried his best to ignore him. "Well," Kanda spoke up, "he probably didn't fall from the sky. If he did, he'd probably be dead by now."

They pictured the white haired boy, still lost, lying on the grass, unconscious, with his skull cracked in half. In unison they all shivered in disgust.

"Plus, look at its horns!" Rinali cried as she pulled at one of the ivory horns that stuck out from the top of his skull. "But doesn't it make him look adorable? The horns, I mean. And then the loin cloth; who wears that? Some ancient civilization that lives underground?" She laughed as everyone except Kanda joined in with her.

Underground. Now was that really possible for a being that needed oxygen to live underground? Wouldn't they be just breathing in their own carbon dioxide over and over again as they inhaled and exhaled?

The raven frowned as the questions racked through his head in an annoying fashion. He blocked out the different noises from outside where he was sitting in the middle of a garden beside Komui's house, examining a white haired creature that just popped up onto Earth.

"Oh, Yuu-chan, live a little!" Rabi laughed, punching in the shoulder playfully, earning a deep frown from the ebony haired boy. "But seriously, do you think this kid," the redhead joked as he ruffled the creature's hair, much to its surprise, "just popped up from underground?" Kanda stared at him in silence, lips pressed together in an angry fashion: one, Rabi just called him 'Yuu-chan', and two, he felt like an idiot when he thought that, unconsciously, the redhead just called him a dope.

"Actually," said raven grumbled under his breath as he casted a sideway glance, "I do think that."

Rinali gave him a hard look, thinking that something in her precious – _Wait, precious? _– Kanda's brain went defective. It was only a joke after all; does he take everything literally?

_Well then again_, Rinali giggled to herself girlishly, _Kanda never really was the smartest kid in class…_

Suddenly the kid began coughing, hacking as he clutched as his barely covered chest, and tried taking deep breaths without getting lightheaded. Rinali reached out and patted his back repeatedly, sighing as she watched the boy stop his coughing. Said white haired creature doubled over, one hand grasping at the grass as the other wrapped around his stomach, and moaned loudly.

Rabi got up to his feet frantically as he exclaimed that he would run for a glass of water or something, thinking that something got caught in his throat and was the cause of the wheezes. The raven only saw a blur of red and orange zip past him.

"Kanda, do something!" Komui barked almost angrily, pulling the boy to his side and forcing one of his pale, thin hands upward towards the creature's forehead. "Feel around his neck and forehead; maybe he has a fever? Wouldn't be so surprising because he's wearing such scanty clothes like that – if you can even call them clothes," he muttered the last part before he too ran into the house in search of some medicine as soon as Rabi came out with a towel and water.

Poor Rinali was bustling around, feeling his forehead, touching the sides of his neck, trying to pry the creature's hand off from the grass, and for the first time since winter two years back, she felt extremely paranoid and sick. Her brother, Komui, had fallen ill and for two weeks straight she had to take care of him, for her parents passed away in a car accident one snowy day. The feeling of despair and anxiety seemed to run through her body, and those feelings were the only reason why she was so jumpy and acting motherly towards the apparently sick boy.

Kanda really didn't know what to do at this point; usually he would stop by his aunt's room to watch his mother take care of the woman and eavesdrop as she would consult with the doctor, but that was it. All he saw was some thermometer and pills on the wooden bureau set beside her bed. So how was he, a boy in high school with no medical interest whatsoever, supposed to help out in this situation? Perhaps Rabi had helped around the house since he saw a couple of kids running around the field a few days ago – all with the amusingly red-orange hair – and figured that Rinali was always the motherly type. All he could do was sit there, cross-legged, watch the boy cough up what seemed like blue blood, and let his hand rest against his back.

What did Komui tell him to do again? Feel around his face to check if he was too warm and pat his back?

_Let's follow my instincts then,_ Kanda thought helplessly as he began pounding the boy's back with no mercy or care in his actions. The uptight girl beside him gave Kanda a look that clearly said: Just-what-in-the-world-are-you-doing-you-bastard?

Not usually falling for other people's looks, the raven was surprised to see Rinali glaring at him and quickly scooted away, holding his hands up in the air as if caught red-handed.

_Well now,_ he made a quick mental note, _following your instincts is not the way to go._

"Here, Yuu-chan, make the boy drink water," Rabi commanded almost menacingly, shoving the clear glass of refreshing water into his chest. His hands wrapped around it instantaneously, but he still gave the redhead a look.

"Why do you want me to? Why not Rinali? She is the mother after all," he stated matter-of-factly, and in return he simply got a harsh, cold stare from Rabi.

_I don't think this kid usually frowns like that,_ Kanda commented uselessly, cocking a stubborn eyebrow up as Rabi got up and left to Komui's house in search of blankets. Then he stared at the glass of water to the coughing boy to the stressing Rinali and then back to the cup.

Grasping the boy's chin lightly, Kanda turned his face towards his own, holding up the water with his other free hand. Carelessly he pressed the rim of the glass against the boy's pale, trembling lips, still wondering why he was doing this, and let out a sigh of relief when he heard gulping. No, not relief that the boy seemed much more better, but more relieved because he had done his job peacefully without being strangled by any of his odd neighbors. Rinali had also let out a breath of exhaustion as she gracefully settled down beside the white haired boy, heartbeat steady, on the grass.

…

It was odd, he thought as the solid yet clear object was pressed against his lip. What it was was beyond his thought and it felt odd to have such a smooth item against his lips. But then he felt a somewhat familiar substance trickle down his chin, just ten times better tasting than what he drank underground. Greedily, lusting over the refreshing substance, he opened his lips and swallowed up what flowed almost endlessly from the solid, cylindrical bowl-like thing that the raven was still holding against his lip.

_Lagua, _he thought to himself as his parched throat from all the coughing was no longer dehydrated, _water._

Then he sat back down, eyes drooping, mouth slightly ajar, as he savored the taste of fresh, crisp water. The water he lived with was usually lukewarm and never as freezing as this.

_Perhaps it was a gift from their god, this revitalizing water? _

He felt a body settle down next to him and put on a fond smile as the girl who had been worried sick over him finally had to chance to relax. Only guilt got to him as he watched her wipe sweat from her forehead, breaths heavy and labored. Then he glanced to his right where the raven haired boy whom he had two staring contests with was kneeling, relaxed and calm without a worry. His eyes went down to the cylindrical object he held loosely with his fingertips, and wondered if there was anymore of that water left.

Reaching out almost hesitantly, he fingered the raven's hand, just to pull it away from his grasp and childishly held the item in his hands. It felt cool in his palms, probably because it mysteriously held the freezing water inside. His blue eyes peered into the inside of the cup and, as he cocked his head to the side, traced one of his slender fingers along the bottom of the object. He grinned when he felt some liquid substance wet his fingers; pulling out his fingers quickly, he stuck it in his mouth and sat there, still smiling.

…

Kanda gave him a look of pure, sheer curiosity. Was this boy deprived from water for him to enjoy what they drank daily? It wasn't that intriguing for a human like him since he had water day by day, but for a creature like him to be blissful over a glass of water…

"I'm back!" Komui exclaimed after moments of silence and quickly seated himself in front of the boy, staring at his silver eyes.

"Kanda," he said as he turned his neck to the left, nodding his head to where the creature was seated, "tell him to suck on this cough drop." Again the raven gave him a quizzical look, this time perhaps more of annoyance.

"Why me?" was all he asked before the man took his hand and pressed a wrapped-up cough drop against his palm.

"Because I said so; plus this kid seems to like you already."

_Now there's a nice excuse,_ Kanda thought sarcastically as he silently rolled his eyes and let out a "Tch."

After taking off the paper-like cover wrapped around the cough drop, he held the candy between his index finger and thumb, holding it before the creature's wandering eyes.

"See this?" Kanda said slowly whilst pointing at the red candy. "You're going to suck on this so you don't start coughing again? All right?" He took the boy's hand and opened each closed finger one by one, finally placing the cough drop in his palm. "Suck."

Everyone around his snickered as the creature, in return, gave him a queer look with his both his eyebrow raised and one end of his lip cocked upward. He copied Kanda with a confused tone and repeated,

"Suck?"

"Yes," Kanda said almost desperately. "Just suck the candy and let's get this over with." Rabi giggled at his impatience.

Finally popping in the candy between his plush lips, the four of them sat quietly around the white haired creature, watching a small lump jutting out from his left cheek, then to the right, and then left again. They let out a sigh of breath; perhaps the boy actually understood them?

…

He had no idea what this raven headed boy was talking about.

_Suck?_ He gave him an odd look. _What is 'suck?'_

Giving it a shot, the boy popped the candy in his mouth – mainly because he was afraid of the quiet, subtle, threatening look the boy before him was giving him – and gave a contemplated hum, shifting the hard thing side to side with his tongue. It didn't taste bad, nor did it taste really good. It was sweet yet, in a way, sour.

He caught the relieved looks on the people around him and couldn't help but feel proud.

_Perhaps,_ the boy thought in his native language, _they mean 'swallow' instead of 'suck?' I have never heard of the word 'suck' from the scriptures…_

Once again he took a whack at it and, though he knew that something in the back of his mind was gnawing at him, telling him not swallow, he swallowed the sweet thing that the raven had handed to him.

Only after swallowing it did he realize that he made a huge mistake.

…

Everyone jumped at once as they saw the boy coughing, choking, and grasping at his throat in desperation. Kanda sat there, aghast, and slowly felt his usually cold mask slip away. What had he just done?

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**I needed some way to wrap things up a bit, yah? So I decided to give the boy a cough drop; poor boy.**

**Uhh… If things got confusing for you, tell me, and I'll sort things out. Maybe it's about the whole story about how the human language got to there in the first place, Rinali's secret crush on Kanda (What? I couldn't help myself!), Kanda's actions and character (Oh boy) or anything else. Things are slowly… revealing. Slowly. But since this is more of like a fantasy and slice-of-life story, it'll take a while. Can't rush everything now, can we?**

**I hope you enjoyed this. Maybe I didn't put too many things with Komui in it. Or Rabi. Oh dear, I'm worried. Then again I _did_ finish this when I was like, one third bored, one third tired, one third just like, distant. So forgive me if there are any awkward moments. Which would be a lot of them.**

**Ah. Time didn't really roll past them as quickly as you think it would've; let's say that… that happened all during the afternoon, perhaps not even a few hours. Who knows? So yeah, I'll leave you all to imagine what'll happen next until the next chapter.**

**I think you can also figure out what 'lagua' means, no? **

**By the way, I know this is random but, to those who actually reached this far, do you think JUNE (You know, the Korean guy who sings _D.Gray-man's_ second ending and the ninth ending of _Bleach_?) sounds like a girl? Even my mom thinks he sounds like a girl; and I swear he doesn't! I'm worried now; maybe I'm the only one who actually thinks that JUNE's voice sounds (somewhat, note the somewhat) masculine…**

**-Muffinizer, haku **


	3. Aren

_Underneath_

_Chapitre Three_

_Aren_

**I'm so glad that I received such wonderful feedback from everyone so… I thank you. Super fast update, here we go!**

**By the way, to a reviewer for chapitre one (I couldn't give you a reply by e-mail since you didn't leave it; sorry), yes, there is going to be Noah coming out. Certain ones, not all, but they're going to be quite a nuisance if you get what I mean. -Smile- All right let's get this chapitre started…**

**Note: If you find any depressing or awkward moments like in the previous moments it's because right now (8:35 PM, 3/28/07) I'm in some kinda family-financial crisis. Seems like my parents are in a sour mood right now – I don't know why, that's the problem – so … yeah. –time skip; right after the first sentence after an excruciating two hour break- Now I feel worse, so if I continue this (tomorrow, 3/29/07) and it seems all emo and depressing, you can fully blame me. I'm sorry.**

**Another Note: Yeah, I was reading through the previous chapitres and I must point out a few things. One: accidentally I forgot to put that the song Rabi was singing (Y'know, _SNOW KISS_) is sung by NIRGILIS and is not mine. If you want a translation go to -g e n d o u (dot) c o m- without the hyphens or spaces and such; I'm too lazy to put it up right now. Two: I realized (well, a reviewer pointed it out) that I described the boy's face as 'pale' but his hands/finger as 'tan.' Sorry to confuse you but let's just put it this way. His face is obviously pale because he never saw sunlight before, but his fingers would be a tan-brown because well, he probably touched dirt a lot underground since hello, they live in a freaking maze. So yeah, just to clarify that… Three: Please, please, if you notice any typos/grammatical errors, please tell me. I tend to overlook a few and when I spot them, I literally cry. Four: And to also clear out the whole Kanda-going-to-school-and-knowing-that-he-isn't-really-smart thing; in the first chapitre, I clearly put that Kanda first stepped into London the day before. Therefore let's say his mother is the strict kind and forced Kanda into school the day after they arrived. That was a Friday, so the second chapitre took place on Saturday. If you think about it, everything falls into place. And Rinali is destined to be in one of his classes, no? Same with Rabi; they should all go to the same (public or private, you choose) school, yah?**

… **That was one big paragraph. My eyes hurt.**

**And did my story already reach 500 hits? -Gasp- It's a miracle, a miracle!**

**Disclaimer: The beloved _D.Gray-man_ belongs to Hoshino. I want it more than _Death Note_, _XXXHOLiC_, _Switch_, _X/1999_, _Gohou Drug_, and _Nabari no Ou_ combined. And, my fellow readers, that means a lot.**

**Summary: Underneath the ground we stand thrives a civilization unknown to man, where creatures – half beast, half human. Among them is a young boy who got lost in the twisting labyrinth, eventually leading him to a single door that opens up to Earth's surface. There, he meets an older teenager, reluctantly bringing him into shelter. The boy who once lived underground learns of new things that the world above has always used, and with that, love.**

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Instinctively Rabi wrapped his arms around the creature's waist and tried his best to do the Heimlich maneuver, focusing on trying not to choke the boy but hard enough to get him to cough up the candy.

Rinali began throwing a tantrum for the second time – the first was when she found her brother and one of his co workers, River, doing a particular something in the middle of their living room floor – and began spewing remarks at the troubled raven. All the while she was patting the trembling boy.

"Really, Kanda, can't you do anything instead of standing and gawking like a deer in the headlights?" the girl snapped furiously without taking her seemingly soft, worried eyes off the pale figure.

_Well what am I supposed to do?_ Kanda asked himself, screwing his eyes shut in aggravation. _The last time I saw someone choking was…_

His eyes snapped open and he literally lunged at the two huddled over the third, pushing them away and wrapping his own arms around the boy's stomach. "Have you not learned how to do this properly in what, grade three?" the raven retorted angrily, not knowing how harsh he sounded in that situation. It wasn't like he was really angry; he just wanted to hide his emotions with fake anger.

_Just focus on this brat, not them._

"Spit it out, damn it; spit!" Kanda yelled so loud that everyone paused just to wince in pain.

And then suddenly, after much coughing and patting, the boy managed to spit the candy out, just to collapse back and fall into Kanda's arms; that didn't really help the sour and somewhat guilty mood Kanda was in already.

"He's alive!" Rabi shouted in glee, flinging his body onto the unconscious white haired boy and wrapped his arms around its petite figure. "I thought Kanda was going to kill him!" The raven automatically kicked the redhead in the shin, earning him a loud yelp. He bore a deep frown on his face as he greatly disliked being leaned on, so he pushed the boy into Rabi's arms, dusting off his coat in a formal matter.

"Yuu-chan," Rabi pouted which earned him yet another kick, "shouldn't you take care of the kid? He likes you after all. Who wouldn't fall for this adorable, small, cuddly…?" As the redhead realized that all eyes were on him, the one who was snuggling the poor boy that was currently knocked-out, he paused. Clearing his throat as a distraction, he concluded his statement with a quick "Yeah, you get the point so take him away."

Kanda frowned. This time it wasn't the fact that this boy, this creature, was too peacefully resting in his arms, but that he just spent hours with these freaks instead of around town in London.

_Not like there isn't much to do for me anyway. This is better than getting molested by crazy women, period._

"… home, right, Yuu-chan?" Kanda managed to catch onto the last few words, sending the redhead a harsh glare; he felt that asking someone to repeat what they said would just put him in a state of embarrassment, but Rabi got the point just by his confused look.

"I said you'll take him home, right?"

He gawked, the usually mysterious, cold mask falling off his face, at the grinning Rabi before him. Did he miss something while he was spacing out a moment ago? Gritting his teeth together to cover up his shock and replace it with false anger, Kanda gave a flat-out "No."

Rinali and Komui pouted – the raven concluded that it must have been some close-sibling thing – at the same time, reaching out to grab both the boy and Kanda at the same time.

"Kanda Yuu," they started at which the raven immediately jumped at, "you are to bring this boy into your house, take care of him, and treat him like a close friend until further notice."

Rinali added, "Besides, you're an only child; I have a brother and Rabi has siblings he has to take care of!"

Komui leaned forward, hat still placed securely on his head, and muttered,

"Take care of him. Got that?"

What else could he do but nod under the adult's menacing glare?

…

They had to literally push Kanda and the still unconscious heap – or, in some case, drag; Rabi took Kanda's left arm, Rinali his left and Komui had the boy over his shoulder – to the front porch, and the moment they reached it, they hauled the two onto the wooden floor carelessly. They all sat down, they as in the three who went through such tough labour, and sat there to catch their breath, all the while sending Kanda the "You-are-the-most-stubborn-person-in-the-world" look.

The boy was still in Kanda's arms, and still at that point, he had no idea what to do with it. So as his instincts struck again, the raven twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, dragging the white haired creature along with him, trying to cover the oddly smooth horns that poked him in the ribs.

"Mother, are you there?" he called out in precaution, taking long strides to avoid being caught by his aunt or uncle. When he heard creaking noises from the stairs above, Kanda quickly pressed himself and the boy up against the left wall where the stairs were, hoping his mother or whoever it was wouldn't glance his way. With the boy taking most of the space, Kanda tried hard not to lean on him and crush the lithe body underneath him, but utterly failed as one leg caught in-between the boy's gave away. He knocked his head together with the creature, drawing out a loud groan of pain and annoyance.

"Kanda? Kanda, are you home already? It's only three in the afternoon right now!" As she heard the raven continue with his hissing, she ran down the stairs faster. "Kanda? Kanda, are you all right, dear? Did you hurt yourself?" She approached the boy with worried eyes and cupped his face, lifting and pulling his chin, examining him.

"Mother," Kanda choked out as he managed to press the boy behind his back to make it seem like he wasn't there and not cry out in pain as his mother pressed the forming bruise on his forehead, "I'm fine, really. I just knocked my head against the wall out of frustration."

She gave her son an odd look, one of her slim eyebrows cocked up and her crystalline azure eyes sparkling. "Kanda, if you lie to me, you do know that you'll end up in your room-?"

"Yes, yes, mother, I understand," he stammered hurriedly, mentally kicking himself for stuttering. "Nothing's wrong, everything is all right." His mother hummed a note, slowly walking towards the direction of the kitchen, left of where he was standing, as his eyes were locked onto her. She craned her neck to peek over Kanda's shoulder but he quickly swung to the wall in front of him which separated the hallway and the living room, smashing his body up against it with the boy still behind him.

_Well now,_ he grimaced, _I don't think he'll like me for doing that._

"All right then," she concluded with a sigh and left to the kitchen, muttering something like "Kids these days."

The moment Kanda heard running water from the marble sink in the kitchen, he slung the body over his shoulders and sprinted up the stairs as swiftly as he could, and cringing as the steps creaked threateningly. Once he got to his room, he opened and shut his door quickly but quietly and threw the boy onto his bed. He let out a sigh.

_Never am I taking a stray into my house again._

For seconds – it seemed like an agonizing eternity for the raven – he stared at the white and brown lump on his bed, sprawled messily all over his perfectly spread blankets. He frowned as he saw no movement from the white haired creature and was confused. Was it dead? Was it his fault he choked on the cough drop and, seemingly, died?

"No, I will not think such obtuse thoughts," Kanda muttered to himself as he pulled out the chair he wanted to throw at Rabi earlier and sat down with a huff. Leaning forward, he rested his head in his left hand, the right idly swinging back and forth beside the chair. He searched for any sign of movement, any sign of life, from the boy.

And then it stirred.

The crumpling of the sheets in the silent atmosphere jerked Kanda awake almost immediately, and his anxious eyes glanced at the lump settled on the bed before him. Slowly the white haired creature rose, rubbings his eyes with hands that, Kanda noted, were mismatched; one a sickening crimson red while the other was a mixture of tan and a creamy colour. Then as his hands dropped to his legs, the raven noticed the scar that ran along the creature's right eye.

"Well that's a first," said Kanda aloud, catching the boy's attention. He whipped his head to the side and stared at him with intense eyes, the silver and blue orbs unreadable.

He began speaking again, just like he had before when he woke up: a language which made no sense to him whatsoever. Kanda's head was spinning by the time the creature stood still on the bed body shaking, face paler than before. Sitting up, he walked over to his bed and carefully watched the eyes follow his movements. Then Kanda sat down next to the boy, who in return quickly scooted away in fright, and let out a heavy sigh.

"This isn't going to work, is it?"

"Human."

Now the raven had something to be amused about; the boy spoke in English, if not with a rough accent, and was pointing at him with one of his scaly, red fingers.

"You is human."

Kanda couldn't help but snort at his grammar. Sure, he himself wasn't the smartest kid in class, but at least he could speak correctly most of the times. He said,

"No, you idiot, you're supposed to say 'You are human', not 'is.'"

The boy didn't seem to get what he said and simply cocked his head to the side in a cute – was it cute, Kanda really didn't know, but he bet Rinali would swoon if he saw the boy now – manner, sending him a questioning, innocent look. Kanda sighed. He wasn't going to let this boy affect him, not matter what.

_This thing's just another creature from another world. No need to be so alarmed._

_Yep. He's not cute; who would think so?_

… _Why is he staring at me like that?_

Kanda cocked an eyebrow in a similar fashion like his mother, except his stare was more of an annoyed one. The creature seemed to withdraw almost immediately, staring at the ground with mock fascination.

…

This was abnormal.

No, this was beyond 'abnormal.' This was just atypical, unusual, strange, peculiar, deviant, and irregular.

Cowering back in fear as the raven shot him a look, he focused on the seemingly furry ground that his foot was barely touching. Rubbing his toe against it, the boy realized that it felt rather smooth and not as rough as it looked like. He kicked off both his shoes and stood on the ground with precaution, legs wobbly at first, and ended up standing firm and tall before the engrossed human sitting almost peacefully on what he was sitting on before, legs drawn up.

He craned his neck and pointed at the human once more, asking,

"You are human?"

Said raven nodded his head simply. And in return he smiled serenely.

"_Haro_," he said cheerfully, turning around to face him completely with his face right in front of the human's. The familiar stare didn't seem to bother him now as he stared at the raven with such fascinated eyes.

Humans looked like this. In the modern time, millennia after the last time one had stepped onto the surface, the humans looked nothing like the drawing of one from long ago. The boy had seen it himself, the picture of a human, and was clearly intrigued by the slender face, the sharp eyes, the flowing dark hair…

"What?"

The boy jumped back as the raven spoke. "What?" the boy repeated, mocking his tone and face. In truth he actually knew what the human had said, but he decided to act stupid around him just for a while, just for fun.

Sending him another look similar to the one before, he leaned forward just enough for his white bangs to brush the raven's nose. Said human twitched and pushed him away arm's length.

…

"Look here," Kanda snapped at the boy, pleased with the shocked face he got in return, "I'm not looking after you because I want to. No, it's the exact opposite of that. I was forced to take care of you." He patiently waited for it to sink into the boy, but seeing no reaction he let out a loud sigh.

"This is hopeless!" the raven cried out, breaking the none-too-peaceful silence, startling the boy once again. "I can't believe me, of all people, ended up being stuck with some Neanderthal who can't even speak in full sentences!"

"Kanda, are you all right?" Uncle Katsuhisa called from outside his door, rapping his knuckles against the hard wood door. The creature jumped and made way for the bed, scrambling on top of it and tugging at the covers, desperately trying to hide under it. Surprisingly the boy managed to hide himself very well before his uncle walked into the room, messier than usual.

"You were yelling. What were you yelling at?" the man asked in curiosity, examining the room with slanted eyes; all Kanda could do was stare at the ridiculous lump in the middle of his bed. His uncle caught sight of the little bump on the bed that Kanda was staring at and made way towards it, leaning forward and brushing away his bangs from his eyes. "Well now, this is unusual." Fixing the small ponytail he had his hair in, Uncle Katsuhisa prodded the lump with his finger. "What the hell is this, a dead person?"

Kanda paled which was shocking for his since he tried his best not to show any emotion excluding anger and hatred. Plus his face was already pale; if his mother saw him walking around like some stark-white ghost, she'd flip out.

"Uh, Uncle Katsuhisa!" Kanda shouted and tackled his uncle to the ground before he pulled the covers off the creature. He saw the lump shaking in fear.

"Just what in the blazes are you doing?" his uncle barked, trying to pry the raven off his waist.

_Quick, _Kanda thought, _think!_

"I was just trying out my tackles," Kanda stammered all the while wanting to keep his cool, "because I wanna get on the football team this year in our school! I heard that they just opened a club and I wanted to join the team."

Uncle Katsuhisa gave him an odd look.

"I've never seen you so active in school before. Kid," said uncle muttered as he poked the boy in the ribs, earning him a yelp of pain, "you'll never make it with a body like this. You'll be snapped in half like some twig."

With a grunt he got up and dusted off his pants, shooting the lump and his nephew a look. "Clean up this room too, it's a mess. Mud in the room, I thought your mother taught you better than that." He pointed at the splotches of brown and dirt over the white sheets that were once splayed across his bed.

"Yeah, I'll clean it up later," he said hurriedly, trying to hide the upcoming scowl on his face as the lump moved an inch, "so, uncle, go drink some tea and look for auntie. I'm sure she wants to see her beloved husband." Kanda ushered his clueless uncle out of the room, not thinking that he was rude in any way whatsoever, and slammed the door shut once he stepped out. The raven sighed.

_I was going to ask for his shotgun, too…_

"All right, come out," Kanda muttered as soon as he heard muffled footsteps from outside. Then he smacked his forehead; he forgot that the creature couldn't speak English. "Ugh, you're pissing me off already!"

He grabbed the sheets furiously and whipped them off, revealing a shaken white haired boy, knees drawn up to his chest, eyes wet with tears. Kanda rolled his eyes. This was the boy he was going to take care of?

"We're going to have to teach you some English," he declared in a rather melancholy voice, tugging at the boy's scanty clothes, ready to pull them off. "But first, we gotta get you into clothes that people actually wear in this world."

…

He flushed.

This person, a human – and a boy at that! – was going to undress him?

All he could do was sit there in shock, metallic eyes wide. This was something he hadn't had in mind.

"_Nie_!" he yelled out, whacking the raven's hand away from his shoes. It was completely nerve-racking for a person his own gender to be forcing him to dress up in whatever he was planning on. Instead of fighting back like he wanted to, he quickly scooted far away from the frowning human before him, back flat against the wall, knees drawn up to his chin now.

"_Nie_."

The human rolled his eyes at him; was he that pathetic?

"Look," was all he could pick up from the human and, obeying what he said, followed the finger that he waved in the air carelessly.

"Okay?"

All he could do was sit there, confused.

The human groaned.

…

_This is going to take forever!_ Kanda thought, clearly agitated, as he sat down on his chair once more. _Let's just calm down, soothe and ease your mind… Oh what the hell, this isn't working!_

The raven stood up from his chair abruptly and knocked it back, not that he really cared, and stomped towards his dresser. Pulling out a black turtleneck sweater, he chucked it at the boy with not much care, and smirked as he heard grunting and rustling from the bed. Apparently the boy was fighting with a sweater.

_One day he'll probably end up fighting the world, _he thought, his smirk still in place.

He walked back towards the struggling creature and reached out to pull away the leather-like material draped around his torso. Ignoring the kicks and bites and random shouts, Kanda ripped it off and stood off the bed, proud of his work.

"Glad that's over with," he mumbled under his breath and threw the old raggedy clothes over his shoulder. Snatching the sweater away from the boy, he forced it over his head.

Only to get it stuck on his horns.

"God damn it!" he cursed out loud, and then,

"Kanda, no cursing in this household!" his mother and aunt called out at the same time.

_Yeah well tell Uncle Katsuhisa that,_ Kanda thought as he struggled with the stubborn sweater that grasped onto the horns for what seemed like its dear life.

Wrapping both arms around the sleeve of the sweater, Kanda tugged hard, pressing his foot against the edge of the bed until he heard creaking and more cries from the breathless creature beneath him.

"_Nie!_" he cried out in pain as he clutched his head, clawing at the material. "Hurt! Hurt!"

Instantly the raven let go of the sleeve, sending the creature flying back towards the wall. He inwardly flinched as he heard a crash and more cries.

"I guess you know some words," Kanda muttered thoughtfully, placing his hands on his waist and shifting his weight to his left foot, deep in ponder. "Well then, maybe it won't be as hard as I imagined it'd be."

"Follow."

He made a gesture to himself and to the door and soon left the room, leaving the creature, pain and all, in his bedroom by himself.

Seemingly catching the hint, he got up and, while rubbing his horns, swiftly exited the room just to bump into the raven's chest.

"Eh," he squeaked, falling back against the open door which really didn't help him from his fall, allowing him to freely fall on his behind in pain.

"Quiet," Kanda drawled, placing his index on his lips to indicate that he wanted the boy to shut up. The boy nodded and in return Kanda smirked once more.

_This is easier than I thought._

…

Luckily Kanda managed to stuff the kid in jeans without getting noticeable bruises, and with a sigh of relief, he fell back against the brick wall of the apartment. The creature was struggling with the tight, confined material that trapped his legs and the rough material he wore that covered his chest. He definitely wasn't enjoying it at all.

And that was what made it fun, Kanda declared.

They were outside in the field, late at night so no one could see the horns sticking out from the messy patch of white hair, and to his luck – perhaps Lady Luck was on his side that night? – Rabi and Rinali were inside their houses, doing whatever they were to do that night. It was a Saturday and, Kanda thought, he should have some fun outside while was at it.

"All right, kid," Kanda stated, catching his attention instantly. "Don't go off this area, okay?" He patted his hand against the grassy earth and closed his eyes once he saw the kid nod. "Very good."

_No worries for me today._

Now that he thought about it, the house was oddly quiet that night when he snuck the creature out of his room.

_Maybe they were talking in the kitchen?_ Kanda pondered, recalling the hushed, fretting whispers from the room down the hall. The raven couldn't help but frown at the thought of his family talking amongst each other without him; usually if it wasn't a problem, he would be included in it, but for him to be left out, it must have been serious.

"_Aren! Aren!_"

He slowly opened his eyes and cocked an eyebrow as he saw the creature twirling in the oversized sweater and long jeans that he tripped over, but that didn't stop his joyous attempts of spinning around freely. For once Kanda noticed a wide smile plastered on the kid's face and, with that much gayness radiating from that small smile, Kanda couldn't stop himself from smirking a crooked smirk, just a bit. Nothing much. Just a tweak of one corner of his mouth.

"_Aren!_" the boy shouted again, grasping at the empty space around him. To Kanda it looked like he was trying to grab the stars which he knew was a completely futile attempt for him to try.

"Air!" he laughed, taking in deep breaths of the crispy air around them. Kanda arched an eyebrow.

Aren.

Air.

"Allen?" the raven thought aloud in his own little world, not noticing the look the creature gave him.

_Aren means air. Aren sounds like Allen, the way he says it. And in the air are stars and clouds. And from clouds comes snow. And his hair's like snow so…_

Kanda simply said, "Allen."

…

He couldn't help but think: was the raven haired boy calling him Allen?

His real name, after all, was Neviki, which stood for some white substance that once fell from God's kingdom, its whiteness cleansing the soul of all who sinned. Cocking his head to the side, he wondered, why Allen?

Then he thought: maybe because 'Allen' sounds like 'Aren?'

_Air. I am named air, _the creature thought quizzically in his own language, scratching the nape of his neck in utter confusion. _Why am I called air?_

But he grinned, nevertheless, at what the raven had called him.

Allen.

A new name, a new identity.

…

Kanda was rather relieved – why he was, he didn't know at that moment – when the creature seemed to have nodded a confirmative. He felt another smirk crawl up to his face; if he could get this creature to understand and agree with him this quickly, life would be a whole lot easier than he'd ever imagine.

"Well then, come, Allen," the raven said, holding his hand out to the white haired creature in awkwardness; the name felt strange on his lips. "Let's try to get back in my room without alarming my family."

Feeling a cold hand wrap around his, Kanda made his way to his apartment's door.

Things weren't so bad after all, perhaps.

Sure, he was stuck with his ancient creature, but things would unravel.

…

A goofy smile slipped on his face as he held a warm cup of hot chocolate up to his pale lips.

Rabi rocked back and forth from his porch, right beside Kanda's house, and let out a wholehearted laugh.

Things were just getting interesting between those two.

_I like it already._

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**As of today, 7:10 PM (EST time haha), 4/4/07, I officially declare this chapitre… over!**

**Bleh, this was kinda odd because I left off at a sour mood and then suddenly, on a dark – yet somehow peppy – day, I pick it up again. Then again, maybe the chapitre ended rather oddly because I was listening to _Hare Hare Yukai_? 'Cause that's one crazy song, especially Haruhi's version. (_Hare Hare Yukai_ is the first ending song to _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_ or _Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu._)**

**So umm, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this… because it's just getting started! -Imagines people running away and groaning- … Okay, maybe it's not such a swell start, but it'll unravel!**

**Soon!**

… **I hope…**

**Well, don't mind me, go ahead and review or something. Or just flee. Y'know, that's fine with me. … Maybe not but I'm not forcing you to, haha.**

**I hope (some) people will actually look forward to the next one… -Sigh- This better come out well since I literally gave up my _Tsubasa_ stories for this. Not that I actually really like _Tsubasa_ anymore, but still…**

**By the way does anyone know where to get more _Switch_ scanlations? The one by Naked Ape, not the one that was plagiarized. Or is only _Timcanpy _scanlating that? Wah, I want volume four!**

**Oh yeah sorry for the late update. I have a good excuse, too. I had like, four projects due this week (huge, grade-threatening projects) and because I'm a procrastinator, I spent most of my time working on it. Sorry.**

**(And yes! More people think JUNE sounds like a guy! -Cackles-)**

**-Muffinizer, myuu**


	4. Sunday

_Underneath_

_Chapitre Four_

_Sunday_

**Ugh, extremely sorry to those who were (actually) looking forward to the update. You see I was extremely sick the last few days, right after Easter for some reason, and since then I didn't have the… the motivation to write. Of course, I may nod off once in a while (I started this at 8:46 PM, 4/11/07) and end up posting this up a week from now. Sorry. I think I have Strep throat or something.**

**Joy.**

**Note: As of this chapitre one (once Allen gets Kanda's name straight) there shall be no POV switching. Thank God. Hallelujah.**

**Another Note: (As of 4/20/07 – Wow – 7:41 PM.) The little insert song that Allen sings is a lullaby. I was trying to find a cheery little 'morning prayer' song but I came up with a lullaby instead. And instead of German, I picked the French version since… I use too many German words without knowing what they really mean. Well, I do, but I switch 'em around and stuff. Plus, I use Google translator. Who believes that shit? Anyway, off topic. I don't own the song, and in English it's called "Good Evening, Good Night." The lyrics are very nice, I must say.**

**Disclaimer: **_**D.Gray-Man**_** belongs to Hoshino. I want to kill her and disclaim it as my own. (Only kidding, everyone.) Oh well, life isn't fair, eh?**

**Summary: Underneath the ground we stand thrives a civilization unknown to man, where creatures – half beast, half human. Among them is a young boy who got lost in the twisting labyrinth, eventually leading him to a single door that opens up to Earth's surface. There, he meets an older teenager, reluctantly bringing him into shelter. The boy who once lived underground learns of new things that the world above has always used, and with that, love.**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Kanda noted that getting Allen back to his room was harder than letting him out, which was odd since when they left the house, he carelessly slammed the door shut while he cautiously closed the door when coming inside. His mother almost caught him while drinking tea in the living room, and Uncle Katsuhisa almost bumped into him after exiting the first floor bathroom which was, inconveniently, right across the door, down the hallway, past the kitchen.

The raven sighed; taking care of this boy wouldn't be easy, he knew from the start, but why Rinali and Komui assertively – or maybe more like aggressively, Kanda thought – pushed the boy into his hands was still unclear. As Allen obediently followed him up the stairs with no creaking of the old steps, Kanda swiftly shoved him into his bedroom with such strength that he sent the poor creature flying across the carpeted floor, landing on his behind with a tremendous thud.

"Kanda," his Aunt Fumi called out, voice wavering as the sore throat she had still remained from last week, "are you all right?"

Coughing, the boy replied with a shaky "Yes, Aunt Fumi, I'm fine."

He was so glad he took drama as another little class.

Quickly the boy turned his attention to the frowning creature, huffing in annoyance. "Just what in the world am I going to do with you?" Kanda muttered staring at him with such blunt eyes that Allen began to shake under his gaze. "Stuffing you in the closet sounds like the best way to go, in my opinion."

And then Allen began fidgeting, not under his gaze, but more along the lines of being uncomfortable. The raven arched an eyebrow while he examined him from the door; was something bothering the boy?

"What's wrong, Allen?"

Said creature glanced up at him with pained eyes, which he screwed shut almost immediately. He folded his legs together tightly, arms hugging them to his chest, and he bit his pale lips with his teeth harshly, so hard that Kanda swore he saw beads of blood trickling down from his lips.

"Whoa there," Kanda exclaimed as he tried to restrain the boy from biting a hole in his bottom lip, "you don't wanna pass out from blood loss now, do you?"

Allen sat there clueless, legs still folded up to his chest, rocking back and forth on his behind. The raven stared at him without a clue. Was he cold? Did he feel uncomfortable or something? Was he hungry?

The white haired boy whimpered squirming around impatiently as his rocking became faster. Kanda groaned.

_Don't tell me…_

"You have to go to the bathroom?"

…

"Stay still!"

"_Nie_!"

"Take off your pants!"

"_Nie_!"

"Do I have to rip them off for you again?"

Allen immediately shut up and sat down on the toilet seat put down, inching himself away from the menacing glare of Kanda Yuu. The raven wasn't really in the mood for potty training or whatnot, especially if it was an ancient creature that – seemingly – came from below just a few days ago. He huffed and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. This, he admitted to himself only, was going to be a whole lot harder than getting him into the clothes.

…

Kanda blinked as the two stepped outside, almost too quietly; the moment before was extremely awkward for Kanda had never been near another boy like that before, much less in a bathroom. Allen was still fidgeting, clearly embarrassed for that evidential, bright, red stain just wouldn't come off no matter how hard he tried.

He stopped midway in the hallway before Kanda's room and tapped the raven on his shoulder cautiously. In response he craned his neck and glanced over his shoulder with an inquiring stare.

…

"Me Allen. You?" Allen managed to stammer out with whatever confidence he had left after that flustering moment in the bathroom together with that dark-haired youth. He stared at him for agonizing moments and soon Allen thought that asking for one's name was impolite in this world. Then he responded.

"I'm… Kanda. Kanda Yuu."

…

Did he scare him or something?

Allen was staring at Kanda with such blank, wide eyes that the raven began to fret; did he name shock the living life out of the boy, or was it just Allen? He reached out carefully to shake the boy by his shoulders with a grim look on his face. The raven jumped back as Allen's eyes came back to life a bit too suddenly.

"Allen," said youth started slowly, staring at him carefully in the eye; he didn't want the kid to jump out the window and sprint from the house, revealing himself to the world for them to see him weak and vulnerable. "We are going to sleep now."

The creature cocked his head to the side and gave him a quizzical look.

"Sleep?" he repeated confusedly. Kanda nodded. Again the creature put on that bemused face, questioning the raven. Usually at a time like this, kids would be getting ready for school and an adventure outside in the mazes. Going to sleep this early in the night was odd for him but, after much decision, Allen spoke up saying,

"I sleep not. School in morn."

It was now Kanda's turn to look stumped. Surely he didn't mean that creatures from his land went to school from ten in the night to twelve in the afternoon? He sighed; at least the boy had understood him with that basic knowledge stuffed in that air-packed head of his. Kanda frowned.

_Time to test that logic of his._

"School here," he said agonizingly slowly, staring at Allen, "is later at around seven in the morning. You sleep now." The creature just stood there without a clue, and Kanda swore he could see tumbleweeds rolling through that empty skull. Giving up, the raven sighed.

"Bed," Kanda grumbled as he pointed to the mattress in the far corner of the room; Allen's eyes followed. "Sleep."

Luckily he seemed to understand, for the white haired boy crawled underneath the covers like he did when Uncle Katsuhisa barged into the room, this time in no hurry. "Sleep," Allen repeated with a goofy smile on his face rather cheerfully. Kanda let out a silent breath of relief. "You sleep."

This caught his attention immediately. The raven gave him a look, a look that simply stated 'No thanks, I'd rather sleep on the floor or in the basement than with another person like you', but Allen's urging gaze forced him to do otherwise. He sighed again; was this kid getting to him already?

Figuring that getting up and changing in front of this kid would be a nuisance, Kanda slipped into the bed, with Allen by his side, fully clothed. He thought that the creature would flip out if he took off his shirt, despite the odd stuffiness in the room that night.

_Maybe it's because I'm sleeping next to another person,_ thought the raven as he shut his eyes closed.

_It's been a while since I did this. It's like… a sleepover._

He vaguely felt Allen shift beside him – or maybe, he thought in distaste, it was Rabi hidden underneath the sheets for hours, ready to pounce of him and strangle him the moment he opened his eyes – and then warm hands on his shoulders. Kanda stiffened instantly at the contact, trying to shift away slowly away from the boy. He turned his back against him, hoping Allen would get the idea, but then he felt arms wrapping around his arm.

The raven stifled a groan.

_I'm not going to be happy tomorrow morning…_

…

Allen woke up in the middle of the night, scared and anxious. Perhaps it was the queer atmosphere, but he suddenly felt naked and unprotected in the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, just to be greeted by a broad back, and he sighed. Kanda, that human, was resting before him, back to his face, with his own arms wrapped around that lithe waist.

_Wait a minute_, said creature thought for a second, metallic eyes going wide. He jumped up from the still, breathing figure without waking him up. Allen breathed heavily. What was he doing just a second ago?

Minutes had passed and there was no movement from the raven human. He sighed and, slowly, stealthily, he crawled out of bed and walked towards the window. Curtains had been draped over it almost elegantly, for the dim moonlight that shone through brightened the room, just enough to lift his spirits up from the unsettled mood he was in. Allen inhaled sharply, trying to calm down all the spazzing nerves in his body.

"_Bonsoir, bonne nuit, gardé par dex angelots  
Qui te montrent en rêve  
L'arbre du petit enfant Jésus:  
Dors seulement, bienheureux et doucement  
Regarde dans les rêves du Paradis…"_

Kanda jolted up with a start, yelling out "Who's there?" without even knowing it. His eyes quickly darted to the left where Allen leaned against the window sill, his own eyes on him. The teenager sighed, placing his hand on his chest, surprised to feel the rapid heartbeat pounding beneath it.

"What're you doing?" he asked simply, causing the creature to shift uncomfortably. The song had been soothing, yes, and Allen's voice was oddly attractive and exotic, but the fact that he had been singing in the middle of the night, smiling, without even waking him up bothered him greatly. "You should be sleeping right now. It's," Kanda muttered as he squinted at the blaring numbers on his digital clock that read two thirty-one, "hours before normal people wake up."

Kanda groaned and fell back in utter defeat.

Sure, he wasn't particularly what you would call a 'normal teenager', especially if you had this beast that looked like he just popped out of the Prehistoric section of the museum and was currently living in your room, but he himself needed sleep. Everyone needed sleep. An hour or two, maybe at the least, but nevertheless, everyone relied on sleep.

So why couldn't he sleep when he was excruciatingly tired?

_It's Allen, _the raven screamed inside his head – he winced because of the loudness of his own thoughts – and silently fumed, _he's the one making me stay up late, I know it._

"Come back," Kanda slowly instructed as he patted the area beside him on the bed with his hand, "and sleep until I wake you." Obediently the white haired creature walked over, stumbling over air, or maybe it was his own feet, Kanda really couldn't tell in the pitch black, and he closed his eyes tight once he felt that warmth beside him once again. Allen shifted and fidgeted, twisted and turned until he found the right spot; by the time he found it, the raven swore he was going to throw up because of the constant movement.

He felt sleep finally wash over him as Allen stilled completely, and the last words he heard were,

"_Regarde dans les rêves du Paradis…"_

…

When Kanda's eyes snapped opened, the digital clock resting lifelessly on the wooden bureau blinked 'five forty nine.' He groaned and sat up, stretching his back with his arms wide out beside him.

"Ai!"

The raven jumped when he heard the exclamation, whizzing his head to the side, coming face to face with a whimpering Allen. Of course, Allen was too busy trying not to cry out in pain again, with his hand stuffed in his mouth and eyes scrunched tightly in pain.

"Ai…"

Kanda blinked sleepily, all the while muttering "Hn. Sorry."

Allen glanced up at him with a scowl on his face and he pulled out his hand. The teenager stared at him, his unwavering scowl bothering him greatly, and wondered if the white haired creature was cursing him right now in his mind. He sighed heavily.

"Well today is Sunday which means I have a whole day off…" Kanda said thoughtfully, scratching his chin as he sorted out his plan for the day. Then he glanced at Allen who was impatiently sitting beside him, scowl still firmly etched on his face. Sighing, the raven concluded,

"But I have to take care of you. Let's start this day off with some basic English words, huh?" He shrugged off the sweater he wore during the night to reveal a simple undershirt beneath it, and then he got off the bed, making way to his desk. Turning on the lamp, he picked out a notebook and pen stuffed between the countless books stacked on top of each other. Allen followed curiously, the frown slipping, replaced by an inquiring look.

_I don't know why I'm trying so hard,_ Kanda groaned inwardly as he scribbled down words quickly on the notebook. _Maybe it's because Komui or whatever looks extremely scary when mad._

He tsked and rolled his eyes.

_Yeah right. Like they can hurt me?_

"All right," Kanda suddenly exclaimed after moments of silence and the scratching of the pen's tip. "This is the alphabet." He wrote down the word alphabet above the stream of letters, both big and small. Tilting his head to the side, Allen followed his finger.

"A-l-p-h-a-b-e-t. Now repeat after me," the raven instructed. Sounding out every word, the teenager waited for Allen to follow him. Instead he stood there beside him, staring incredulously at Kanda, then at the letters. This time Allen frowned deeply in frustration.

"A…" Kanda drawled dragging the vowel out for seconds until the boy finally got the point.

"A," he repeated hastily, the sudden feeling of pride fluttering in his chest for that brief second. Allen heard Kanda whisper a "Thank God", wondering what he meant by that.

"Now, B."

…

Both the raven and white haired boy groaned in frustration, dropping down to the floor with a thump. Kanda was having a pounding headache and a distracting sore throat, while Allen's head was spinning in confusion.

_So many letters,_ Allen moaned inwardly as he clutched his head and grimaced, _so many letters to memorize at once._

"This really isn't working," Kanda grumbled, ignoring the saddened look – was it a sad or a sympathetic look, he didn't know – that the white haired boy was giving him. The raven sighed and settled down on his chair before the desk once more, glaring at the notepad.

_I can't do this alone. But I don't wanna ask anyone in this house since they don't know Allen's here._

He shot said boy a look, scowling.

_Now my life's going downhill because of this random boy that popped up. Why is he messing with my life? Why not some other person in the Americas or something?_

Kanda let his head fall to the desk with a thump rather grumpily, not moving to push the annoying strands of hair that fell before his eyes. He heard Allen get up beside him and the pen right beside his ear suddenly disappeared. Glancing to the left, Kanda arched an eyebrow when he saw the boy fussing over the pen and trying to copy the letters written on the lined paper. Slowly he sat up, watching him curiously as Allen wrote over the letters, line by line, curve by curve almost perfectly.

For that split moment, he smirked.

Allen worked furiously, trying to copy every single letter, not noticing the slight grin that the human had put on, just for him.

…

The doorbell rang downstairs and made the two boys jump in unison. There was the sound of muffled steps and the sound of locks twisting and clicking, until the door swung open, greeted with a,

"Good morning, Mrs. Kanda! My, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rabi from next door – we've met you a few days ago, right?"

Kanda flinched at the happy-go-lucky voice of the redhead from the house right besides theirs and the grin immediately fell from his face. Allen glanced up at him with curious eyes, wondering what was bothering the raven so much; there was a big commotion going on downstairs, yes, but he didn't find that so bothersome. Great shouts and loud stomps were usually heard throughout the day as greetings and rituals.

"Oh, you're here to see Yuu-chan?" Kanda's mother chirped, and at that moment, the raven swore he just saw him mother's face brighten with glee. He didn't have to be there to see it; he felt it deep, deep inside.

_No. No, don't let him in, mother. Don't,_ Kanda's mind begged just as he heard two sets of footsteps marching up the stairs. He collapsed on the floor, head in his hands, and let out a stifled scream of annoyance.

"Yuu-chan, Rabi's here to see you!" she called out as she flung the door open, pushing the smiling redhead inside. "I'm sure you'll get along just fine; Rabi is such a fine, young boy!"

_Oh shit,_ the raven thought as his eyes locked onto Allen. He leaped as his mother stepped in, pushing the chair out of his way and sending it toppling over to the side. Kanda shoved Allen underneath the desk instead, and swiftly pulled the chair upright to sit right before the confused and confined Allen.

He glanced up and found his mother looking down at him, a strange look on her face. Kanda cursed silently.

Surely she didn't see…

"Well, Rabi, I hope you enjoy your stay," she said rather hastily, patting him on the back as she walked out the room without hesitation. "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs!"

The redhead waved back and, the moment the door closed, he turned around to kneel down beside Kanda's chair, peering into the small area underneath the desk where Allen was squatting in. He smiled and reached out his hand, waiting for some response from the creature. There was none.

"Allen," Kanda muttered as he pushed the chair back and bent down beside Rabi. He too held out his hand, ready to pull him out. "Out. Now."

All Kanda saw was a stubborn boy, one as mulish as a young toddler who didn't receive a cookie for dessert after dinner, no matter how long he begged.

However, Rabi saw clearer and something completely different.

For that split second, he saw pain.

The redhead grasped Allen's arm and pulled him out slowly, careful not to force him out and make him hit his head against the desk above him. Allen teetered to the side as he tried to find his footing, barely raising his head to look at Kanda. He was standing there, unmoving, with a look that held nothing.

"So you named him Allen?" Rabi questioned, causing the silence to break. Kanda looked at him and replied,

"Yes." And then,

"What do you think you're doing in my house? Did I invite you?" he hissed, grabbing Allen from Rabi's grasp. Allen reluctantly let his body fly to the left, where he stood firm and tall beside the raven. Blinking, the teenager gave Kanda a shrug.

"Well, I thought you would've wanted help with taking care of Allen here." He flashed Allen a kind grin, and sheepishly the boy smiled back.

Kanda let out a "Tch" and shrugged. "It's harder than you think. I don't suppose a laid-back, happy-happy joy-joy guy like you would understand."

The redhead laughed heartily, embracing Allen tightly while doing so, earning him a squeak of protest.

_Ah, Yuu,_ Rabi thought to himself as he teased the white haired boy by playing with the ivory horns, _you would think so._

_But I think I've been through just as much as you have._

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**Why am I always ending with **_**Rabi's**_** thoughts? Oh, I know.**

'**Cause he's so fucking awesome. XD**

**Anyway this chapitre came out kinda odd since, well, I was slacking (Surprise, surprise) and I didn't really have… the heart to finish it. I was working with another story for **_**D.Gray-Man**_** (A thriller like story with Kanda as a serial killer. Kinda. Think of him as like, Raito-kun from **_**Death Note**_**. Trying to get rid of all evil and stuff. But that'll be out soon later, once I finish other stories) so if it came out… kinda crappy, I'm sorry. **

**But I still love the story, so other chapitres (once it gets its dramatic, romantic fucking plot) will be quite good, I hope. It's just beginning. -Evil smile-**

**All right, I'm out. Drop a review or something if you have time!**

**-Muffinizer, aozora no namida**


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